Armand Goldman is the openly-gay owner of a drag club in South Beach called The Birdcage; his life partner Albert, an effeminate and flamboyant man, plays Starina, the star attraction of the club. They live together in an apartment above The Birdcage with Agador, their flamboyant Guatemalan housekeeper who aspires to be in Albert's drag show. One day, Armand's son Val, who resulted from Armand's drunken one-night stand with a woman named Katharine, comes home to announce that he has been seeing a young woman named Barbara whom he intends to marry. Although unhappy about the news, Armand agrees to support his son. Unfortunately, Barbara's parents are the ultra-conservative Republican Senator Kevin Keeley and his wife Louise. Kevin, co-founder of a conservative group called the Coalition for Moral Order, becomes embroiled in a political scandal when his co-founder and fellow senator is found dead in the bed of an underage black prostitute. Louise and Barbara convince Kevin that a visit to meet the family of his daughter's fiancé would be the perfect way to stave off bad press, so they set out for South Beach. Barbara shares news of her father's plan to Val; to cover the Goldmans' truth, she has told her parents that Armand is straight and a cultural attaché to Greece. Armand dislikes the idea of being forced into the closet, but agrees to play along, enlisting the help of friends and club employees to redecorate the family's apartment to more closely resemble a traditional household. Val and Armand attempt to get Albert out of the house, but when they fail Albert suggests he'll pose as Val's straight uncle. Armand contacts Katharine and explains the situation; she promises to come to the party and pretend to be his wife. Armand then tries to coach Albert on how to be straight, but Albert's flamboyant nature makes the task difficult. When Albert realizes his plan will not fool anyone, he takes offense and locks himself in his room. The Keeleys arrive at the Goldmans redecorated apartment; they are greeted by Agador, who is attempting to pass as a Greek butler named Spartacus for the night. Unfortunately, Katharine gets caught in traffic, and the Keeleys begin wondering where "Mrs. Coleman" is. Suddenly, Albert enters, dressed and styled as a conservative middle-aged woman. Armand, Val, and Barbara are nervous, but Kevin and Louise are taken-in by the disguise. Despite the success of the evening, trouble begins when the senator's chauffeur betrays him to two tabloid journalists, Harry Radman and his photographer, who have been hoping for a scoop on the Coalition story and follow the Keeleys to South Beach. While they research The Birdcage, they also remove a note that Armand has left on the door informing Katharine not to come upstairs. When she arrives, she unknowingly reveals the deceptions, leading Val to confess to the scheme and identify Albert as his true parent. Kevin is initially confused by the situation, but Louise informs him of the truth and scolds him for being more concerned with his career than his family's happiness. When attempting to leave, he is ambushed by the paparazzi camped outside to take his picture. Albert then realizes that there is a way for the family to escape without being recognized. He dresses them in drag and they use the apartment's back entrance to sneak into The Birdcage where they slowly make their way out of the nightclub without incident. Barbara and Val are married in an interfaith service that both families attend.
Three songs written by Stephen Sondheim were adapted and arranged for the film by composer Jonathan Tunick. The song that Albert rehearses during the sequence with the gum-chewing dancer is entitled "Little Dream" and was written specifically for use in the film. Albert's first song as "Starina" is "Can That Boy Foxtrot", cut from Sondheim's Follies. The song that Armand and Katherine sing and dance to in her office, "Love Is in the Air", had been intended as the opening number for the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1962. The song was cut from the show and replaced with Comedy Tonight. In addition to the Sondheim songs, Tunick utilized dance-style music such as Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money" and "We Are Family"; along with Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine's "Conga".
Reception
The film opened on March 8, 1996, and grossed $18,275,828 in its opening weekend, topping the box office. It remained at #1 for the next three weeks before being derailed by the openings of Primal Fear and A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. By the end of its 14-week run, the film had grossed $124,060,553 domestically and $61,200,000 internationally, eventually reaching a total of US$185,260,553 worldwide. The film received positive reviews upon its release, and as of 2020, the film holds an 80% approval rating on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 49 critic reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Mike Nichols wrangles agreeably amusing performances from Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in this fun, if not quite essential, remake of the French-Italian comedy La Cage aux Folles." The review aggregator Metacritic reported that the film received "generally favorable" reviews, with a score of 72% based on 18 reviews. James Berardinelli wrote in ReelViews, "The film is so boisterously entertaining that it's easy for the unsuspecting viewer not to realize that there's a message here." Desson Thomson of The Washington Post described the film as "A spirited remake of the French drag farce has everything in place, from eyeliner to one-liner". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called the film "Enchantingly witty". Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, especially praising Robin Williams' performance: "...this is one of his most cohesive and least antic performances. It's also a mischievously funny one: He does a fine job of integrating gag lines with semi-serious acting..." The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the film for "going beyond the stereotypes to see the characters' depth and humanity. The film celebrates differences and points out the outrageousness of hiding those differences". The film was also nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.
